More than 300 Ilonggo farmers got 309 bags of hybrid rice seed during the Iloilo Provincial Government’s launching of the P30-million hybrid rice seed program in San Miguel town.

According to the Department of Agriculture (DA-6), this is a collaboration program under the Province-Led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Systems (PAFES) which caters to more than 6,000 hectares of rice areas in the province no longer included in the target sites of the agency’s hybridization program this year.

Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., who led the launching and pilot distribution, campaigned for the implementation of the hybridization program.

“We are pushing for the hybridization program to improve our current average yield of 4.5 metric tons per hectare of palay even before the completion of the biggest dam project outside Luzon, the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project II,” said Governor Defensor.

Based on the report of DA-6, seven towns in Iloilo including Ajuy, Dumangas, Pavia, Mina, New Lucena, Barotac Nuevo, and Banate, with above five metric tons per hectare average yield, had benefited from DA’s 45,000 bags of hybrid seeds in 2022.

For this year, however, only 800 hectares of rice areas in Banate, Dumangas, and Pototan are targeted for hybridization under the DA’s Masagana Program and 100 hectares as demo farm.

To note, the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA) Iloilo allotted a budget for the Hybrid Rice Production Support Program under the PAFES following the significant drop in the DA’s budget for hybrid rice seed interventions.

The move aims to sustain and improve the province’s production volume and harvest performance in palay production.

DA said that each farmer could receive one bag (at 15 kilograms per bag) of hybrid seeds for every hectare of rice land. However, a farmer could only avail of a maximum of two bags.

Governor Defensor assured farmers that the Iloilo Provincial Local Government Unit’s (PLGU) priority programs under PAFES will further advance the rice self-sufficiency of the province.

He also said that the PLGU has earmarked P20 million for the construction of small-scale irrigation projects in different municipalities this year.

Meanwhile, Iloilo provincial agriculturist Dr. Ildefonso Toledo cited that with the Governor’s thrust that centers on transforming ordinary and traditional into optimal and centralized agri-fishery-related enterprises and systems (TOTO CARES), hybrid rice farmers in Iloilo could compete with farmers from other Asian countries should they adopt the PalayCheck System and use high-quality seeds when producing rice.

Toledo also mentioned the high-yielding traits of hybrid rice that will provide farmers with at least five metric tons per hectare average yield despite the unfavorable climatic condition directly affecting the palay output.

“These hybrid seeds we are distributing are of high quality as cultivated in other top rice-producing areas. If coupled with best cultural management practices and favorable climate, hybrid rice farming could yield 10 metric tons per hectare or more,” said Toledo.

Aside from San Miguel, the OPA Iloilo also allocates 470 bags for Barotac Viejo, 891 bags for Dumangas, 970 for Pototan, and Tigbauan with 360 bags of hybrid rice for planting this year.

Data from DA-6 said that Iloilo has a total of 45,000 hectares of potential areas for hybrid rice cultivation.AAL/LMLE/PIA Iloilo/DA-RAFIS 6